This workshop brings together stakeholders from industry, the public sector, and research to explore how robotics, AI, and IoT can transform inspection and maintenance (I&M) into a proactive force for infrastructure resilience. With a focus on real-world challenges—such as the 2025 blackout in Spain—we will discuss how to move beyond inspection to enable robotic intervention, real-time sensing, and predictive maintenance. Through expert talks and interactive panels, we will identify high-value use cases, integration strategies for sensor and robot-enabled data, and the regulatory and business hurdles that must be overcome to scale these technologies.
Please check the ERF program to find the exact time slot and room for the workshop: https://erf2026.eu/programme/ (workshop ID: #39)
The workshop will focus on three main questions
- How can IoT and robot enabled-data be integrated to predict future faults and potentially prevent and fix them?
- How are robots used for intervention in I&M in the industry and public sector?
- What are the next high-value use cases for the above-mentioned topics in I&M, and which key tech, regulatory and business challenges need to be met?
Overall program (80 minutes)
- (ca. 5 min) Short introduction by the organizers.
- (ca. 45 min) Short pitches, including preliminary Q&A, addressing the key questions of the workshop and highlighting insights from real use cases and relevant technologies.
- (ca. 30 min) Active plenary discussions among all workshop participants (speakers and attendees). In parallel, we use online tools such as Slido or Google Drive to gather inputs on the key questions for the workshop.
Short presentations will be given by the following speakers
- Tjibbe Bouma, SPRINT Robotics and Quasset
- Key take-aways from using robots in Equinor’s operations. Svein Ivar Sagatun, Equinor
- High voltage line maintenance using a hybrid robotic system, Thor Kamp/Emad Samuel Malki Ebeid, SDU
- Leveraging combined IoT and robotics in Remote offshore I&M. Jone Sæbbø, Aker BP.
- Robotic Solutions for Intervention in Critical Infrastructure, Michele Guarnieri, Hibot
- Technology Infrastructures for European Leadership in Inspection and Maintenance, Aksel Transeth, SINTEF.
The list of speakers may be subject to change without notice. This workshop is being organized by the euRobotics topic group on inspection and maintenance robotics in collaboration with other initiatives (see further information below). If you wish to join the topic group, then please contact .
Note that to participate in the workshop you need to be registered for the European Robotics Forum (ERF). To register for the ERF and check out the time and room for the workshop, please visit this site: https://erf2026.eu/
The workshop organizers are Aksel A. Transeth, SINTEF, Emad Samuel Malki, Ebeid, SDU. The preparations of the workshop has been supported by the euRobotics I&M topic group, the RIMA Alliance euRobotics Innovation Network, the ADRA topic group on I&M, SPRINT Robotics, the RINVE network, the Nemonoor EDIH, and the Naine network. The EU-projects called JARVIS (101135708) and Robots4Green also support the organization of the workshop.
